I took a short break from posting here because I have been using a great publishing platform that you probably already know about: Squidoo.
So far it has been a lot more social than simply writing in this blog!
If you haven't used Squidoo before, I suggest you check it out.
(This is a referral program. If you sign up as my referral and a lens of yours earns its first $15, I get an extra $5. You get a referral link, too. And when your friend's lens earns its first $15, you'll get the $5 from Squidoo.)
Rather than blogging about one topic on a single site and having several blogs to take care of, Squidoo lets you blog about many topics and then places them along other topics of interest. They provide you with "modules" which are the building blocks of your "lens" (which is your page focused on one niche topic). Modules make it really easy to monetize. They have Amazon, CafePress, Zazzle, and eBay modules. I'm sure there are some I am forgetting. Anyway, these sales modules make it very easy to hand-pick your favorite items to market online.
Be aware Squidoo has a low tolerance for spam, MLM, and other "junky" lenses. You should go take a look at the criteria for a quality lens before you begin writing for their site. That info is easy to find, by the way. SquidooHQ, other groups and helpful individuals make it easy to get the help you need to create something unique. Make your content valuable and the site and its members will value you in return.
I've been busy making lenses with this site for nearly a month now. I have yet to see any sort of payout, but it is possible to make money with this site. They pay through PayPal and there are a few ways for you to earn: Commissions from your sales modules is one way you can make some money. That's basically good old-fashioned affiliate marketing. Advertising goes into an Ad Pool where the site's highest ranking lenses receive some pay. I recently started to use the site to direct some traffic to my Bandcamp page, where I have some of my own songs for sale. So, get creative. Squidoo is only a tool. What you do with it is ultimately up to you.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Work From Home Using Fiverr
Fiverr.com is a great website that acts as an internet marketplace for tasks, custom graphics, made-to-order videos, and much more, all for $5.
The possibilities of what's available for purchase revolves around a creative seller.
These small "gigs" are micro-jobs. If you were selling something you would aim to sell something you would be able to accomplish relatively quickly, and hopefully in batches to save time and make money.
If you're looking to buy: browse through the category sidebar or perform a keyword search for what the sellers have to offer. As a buyer you're allowed to contact the seller beforehand, which is a good idea; you want to make sure the task at hand is one the seller will be able to understand and complete.
The payment transactions are handled through the site via PayPal, but the site is there to mediate, guide the buyer through providing the needed info to the seller, and resolve any disputes if they were to occur.
I recommend taking a look through what's offered and leave it at that. There might come a day when you think of a great selling idea or need a small job to be done for you.
The possibilities of what's available for purchase revolves around a creative seller.
These small "gigs" are micro-jobs. If you were selling something you would aim to sell something you would be able to accomplish relatively quickly, and hopefully in batches to save time and make money.
If you're looking to buy: browse through the category sidebar or perform a keyword search for what the sellers have to offer. As a buyer you're allowed to contact the seller beforehand, which is a good idea; you want to make sure the task at hand is one the seller will be able to understand and complete.
The payment transactions are handled through the site via PayPal, but the site is there to mediate, guide the buyer through providing the needed info to the seller, and resolve any disputes if they were to occur.
I recommend taking a look through what's offered and leave it at that. There might come a day when you think of a great selling idea or need a small job to be done for you.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Another Great Referral Exchange Site
Lately I've been using DownlineRefs.com in addition to the other two sites I've mentioned. I really like this site because it's a lot easier to earn points; there are more ads for you to click on. I've noticed that there's also a larger difference in amounts that can be earner by signing up to another person's program. I can't say for sure how it will work out, I'm just building up some points for the time being.
Check it out if you enjoy a good referral swap site.
Here's how the three sites I've mentioned measure up on Alexa.com:
If you thought this was helpful and want to sign up please use my referral link:
http://www.downlinerefs.com/?ref=luckiestkid
Thanks!
Check it out if you enjoy a good referral swap site.
Here's how the three sites I've mentioned measure up on Alexa.com:
- DownlineRefs - 29,221
- GetRef - 85,422
- SimpleRefs - 204,607
If you thought this was helpful and want to sign up please use my referral link:
http://www.downlinerefs.com/?ref=luckiestkid
Thanks!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Paid Surveys: A Hit or Miss?
If you've been searching the web using keywords such as: make money, make money online, make money from home, etc. chances are you've seen offers from companies offering to pay you in exchange for you opinion (and valuable time).
Typically you sign up with the research group, like Vindale or Opinion Outpost (for example), and you take surveys when they alert you of new available opportunities.
Another option is to sign up with sites like Unique Rewards, ClixSense, or Points2Shop and take surveys offered through their partners. Some people have better luck with the individual groups, and some enjoy the offer sites or "get paid to" sites more. It all depends on the person.
When I sign on to do a survey there are a few pages before the actual survey that screen for the best potential candidates. These are typically questions about age, annual income, gender, and so forth. Once an appropriate survey have been selected for you (or you were lucky enough to choose it) you begin to fill out the paid survey. However, I'm typically displeased that these systems will typically boot you from the survey if you're not on what I'll refer to as the "correct path". That's right, fifteen minutes in and the survey then decides to tell you that you're not qualified. Just not cool. But better than the old Survey method; a random call from a call center hoping to milk you for information until you hung up. No reward ever promised.
Sometimes I do get lucky and find a survey that I'm able to complete. These are few and far between, possibly because I'm such an odd duck. So I typically stay away, unless I'm totally out of things to do with my day.
How do surveys pan out for you? Are you the person these companies are looking for? Do you get to complete many surveys or do you feel that they unjustly kick you out of the survey when you're not the perfect candidate?
What survey sites work best for you?
Typically you sign up with the research group, like Vindale or Opinion Outpost (for example), and you take surveys when they alert you of new available opportunities.
Another option is to sign up with sites like Unique Rewards, ClixSense, or Points2Shop and take surveys offered through their partners. Some people have better luck with the individual groups, and some enjoy the offer sites or "get paid to" sites more. It all depends on the person.
When I sign on to do a survey there are a few pages before the actual survey that screen for the best potential candidates. These are typically questions about age, annual income, gender, and so forth. Once an appropriate survey have been selected for you (or you were lucky enough to choose it) you begin to fill out the paid survey. However, I'm typically displeased that these systems will typically boot you from the survey if you're not on what I'll refer to as the "correct path". That's right, fifteen minutes in and the survey then decides to tell you that you're not qualified. Just not cool. But better than the old Survey method; a random call from a call center hoping to milk you for information until you hung up. No reward ever promised.
Sometimes I do get lucky and find a survey that I'm able to complete. These are few and far between, possibly because I'm such an odd duck. So I typically stay away, unless I'm totally out of things to do with my day.
How do surveys pan out for you? Are you the person these companies are looking for? Do you get to complete many surveys or do you feel that they unjustly kick you out of the survey when you're not the perfect candidate?
What survey sites work best for you?
The REAL secret to PTC sites.
Using PTC websites is probably the easiest way to generate income on the internet, but few individuals make a lot of money with them. That's because the real "secret" to creating decent cash-flow with paid-to-click websites is getting referrals. Most individuals have no concept of how to obtain these referrals, therefore they generate only a few dollars (or sometimes just cents) of additional income every month. Here are some tips to help drive more direct referrals to your favorite PTC website(s).
Start by asking your friends and family: I find that honest word-of-mouth works best, but most sites offer an option to deliver an e-mail or message to your friends, family, neighbors, and so forth, to ask them if they are interested in joining. Present some evidence that it pays out. Just be sincere when you encourage them to be a part of the site; explain that it’s just a way to generate some income in your spare time. Besides, if you really do like the sites you're recommending it shouldn't be difficult.
Make video tutorials for YouTube: Set up a YouTube channel and post video clips, where you guide people through how the ptc site you are advertising functions. Show how easy it is to generate income from it. If you help someone they will be more inclined to help you in return and you're readying the viewer with knowledge of how to succeed. Their success increases your chances of success.
Promote your referral link on Traffic Exchanges: On traffic exchanges, you click through other members’ websites to generate credits. The credits can then be used to promote your own web pages. Keep in mind though, that individuals visiting your web page only see it for about 20 seconds, so it is important to pick up their interest. Build a web page that's quick to load, with a excellent title, and a short conclusion of why they should be a part of the web page. Check into the sites' rules: not all TEs allow the promotion of PTC or GPT websites.
Create a blog or website: This is possibly the most difficult way to get PTC referrals. It takes skill and effort to build a successful blog, but it also can be the most fulfilling. There are many places where you can set up a blog for free, like Weebly, Wordpress, and of course Blogger. To attract your guests, make sure you publish useful and original content. You could write about your encounters with different PTC websites and post your proof of payments. Use the blog as your space to place your referral link within your content. Try researching SEO so you can target the best search phrases and get more google search engine visitors .
Promote your referral link on social media networks: Create accounts on public networking sites. Place your links and banner ad campaigns on your profile page. Keep your information personal and don't spam. Publish your blog page and web page links to social bookmarking websites. I like to use a site like bufferapp or twitterfeed to make sure I'm promoting regularly (but not annoyingly so).
Work with a referral exchange program: There are a number of websites where you can swap ptc/gpt referrals with other associates. Most of these referral exchange sites offer four ways to generate credits: by signing up as another member's referral for a ptc site you haven't joined before, by clicking advertiser's links, purchasing credits using your own funds, and by sending the exchange site new referrals. The credits gained can then be used to buy referrals to promote your PTC web page of choice. See the previous post "I'm Looking For Referrals" for some referral exchange site recommendations.
Post in forums: There are many boards on the Internet about generating massive income on the internet. Forums usually allows you add hyperlinks on your profile page and in your signature. With a signature link individuals will see your site whenever you make a new post. But don’t spam it up – be relevant toward the topic at hand and only make helpful content that can be of value to other forum users. If you get involved in conversation, and if you're experienced and provide useful information people will respect you, and the possibilities of them signing up as your referral will improve. Many boards also have a section where you can swap PTC referrals with other associates, for example: eMoneySpace Referral Exchange Board.
Advertise on other PTC sites: Buying banner space or placing your link on PTC websites can be a very effective way to get more referrals. The disadvantage: you need to invest money before it becomes successful. However, on some websites you can use the payments you've received to buy some advertising. If you don't want to risk your own cash, this might be the way to go. Many seasoned promoters send their guests to something other than a simple referral site. Make a web page with links or banners to more than one PTC/GPT site. Here's another situation where your payments proofs and a review can improve the possibilities of guests joining via your referral link.
Buy or lease unclaimed referrals: Many individuals signup with PTC websites without using a recommendation weblink, or maybe their original referrer has been removed. Some PTC websites allow you buy or lease those unreferred members. Prices vary from site to site. Also, there is no guarantee that the referrals you lease will be active, so there is always the chance of losing some of the cash you spent. Usually it is a wise decision to upgrade your account to really make it work for you. Just be careful when investing your cash in a PTC page, especially if it’s new and have not yet been proven to be reputable.
Promote new PTC sites: New PTC sites and GPT sites can be risky, keep that in mind. However, it is far easier to get new referrals for newer programs. Trying to promote a well-known website can be trickier than promoting a new site because many people have already signed up for the older site.
Start by asking your friends and family: I find that honest word-of-mouth works best, but most sites offer an option to deliver an e-mail or message to your friends, family, neighbors, and so forth, to ask them if they are interested in joining. Present some evidence that it pays out. Just be sincere when you encourage them to be a part of the site; explain that it’s just a way to generate some income in your spare time. Besides, if you really do like the sites you're recommending it shouldn't be difficult.
Make video tutorials for YouTube: Set up a YouTube channel and post video clips, where you guide people through how the ptc site you are advertising functions. Show how easy it is to generate income from it. If you help someone they will be more inclined to help you in return and you're readying the viewer with knowledge of how to succeed. Their success increases your chances of success.
Promote your referral link on Traffic Exchanges: On traffic exchanges, you click through other members’ websites to generate credits. The credits can then be used to promote your own web pages. Keep in mind though, that individuals visiting your web page only see it for about 20 seconds, so it is important to pick up their interest. Build a web page that's quick to load, with a excellent title, and a short conclusion of why they should be a part of the web page. Check into the sites' rules: not all TEs allow the promotion of PTC or GPT websites.
Create a blog or website: This is possibly the most difficult way to get PTC referrals. It takes skill and effort to build a successful blog, but it also can be the most fulfilling. There are many places where you can set up a blog for free, like Weebly, Wordpress, and of course Blogger. To attract your guests, make sure you publish useful and original content. You could write about your encounters with different PTC websites and post your proof of payments. Use the blog as your space to place your referral link within your content. Try researching SEO so you can target the best search phrases and get more google search engine visitors .
Promote your referral link on social media networks: Create accounts on public networking sites. Place your links and banner ad campaigns on your profile page. Keep your information personal and don't spam. Publish your blog page and web page links to social bookmarking websites. I like to use a site like bufferapp or twitterfeed to make sure I'm promoting regularly (but not annoyingly so).
Work with a referral exchange program: There are a number of websites where you can swap ptc/gpt referrals with other associates. Most of these referral exchange sites offer four ways to generate credits: by signing up as another member's referral for a ptc site you haven't joined before, by clicking advertiser's links, purchasing credits using your own funds, and by sending the exchange site new referrals. The credits gained can then be used to buy referrals to promote your PTC web page of choice. See the previous post "I'm Looking For Referrals" for some referral exchange site recommendations.
Post in forums: There are many boards on the Internet about generating massive income on the internet. Forums usually allows you add hyperlinks on your profile page and in your signature. With a signature link individuals will see your site whenever you make a new post. But don’t spam it up – be relevant toward the topic at hand and only make helpful content that can be of value to other forum users. If you get involved in conversation, and if you're experienced and provide useful information people will respect you, and the possibilities of them signing up as your referral will improve. Many boards also have a section where you can swap PTC referrals with other associates, for example: eMoneySpace Referral Exchange Board.
Advertise on other PTC sites: Buying banner space or placing your link on PTC websites can be a very effective way to get more referrals. The disadvantage: you need to invest money before it becomes successful. However, on some websites you can use the payments you've received to buy some advertising. If you don't want to risk your own cash, this might be the way to go. Many seasoned promoters send their guests to something other than a simple referral site. Make a web page with links or banners to more than one PTC/GPT site. Here's another situation where your payments proofs and a review can improve the possibilities of guests joining via your referral link.
Buy or lease unclaimed referrals: Many individuals signup with PTC websites without using a recommendation weblink, or maybe their original referrer has been removed. Some PTC websites allow you buy or lease those unreferred members. Prices vary from site to site. Also, there is no guarantee that the referrals you lease will be active, so there is always the chance of losing some of the cash you spent. Usually it is a wise decision to upgrade your account to really make it work for you. Just be careful when investing your cash in a PTC page, especially if it’s new and have not yet been proven to be reputable.
Promote new PTC sites: New PTC sites and GPT sites can be risky, keep that in mind. However, it is far easier to get new referrals for newer programs. Trying to promote a well-known website can be trickier than promoting a new site because many people have already signed up for the older site.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The "Stick To Your Guns" Speech
When you start to try to make money online things can get crazy.
It can lead to distracted thoughts and unplanned brainstorming sessions and drastic revamps to whatever blog or business plan you might have.
This is not necessarily a bad thing and it happens to most of us. The most important part is funnelling that energy into something powerful, rather than a rubber ball of confusion bouncing in your brain. Hence the speech.
Whenever I look for advice I check forums and read what others say to each other. (I'm not a great forum poster; I can usually find the answer I'm looking for by reading the previous posts, maybe that makes me a great forum user.)
People post things like, "Help! I've been doing the right things, but not making any money!" and the responses are very similar. The person asking for help makes a big list of all of the internet marketing tactics and money-making plans that they have employed. The list is usually very long and it does in fact seem that they have done the "correct thing" to make it work. And it just doesn't.
Why?
The repliers always give the same speech: Stick to your guns. Take one of those tried-and-true plans and stick with it.
So, maybe the problem lies within the desire to experiment. Maybe it seems too boring to sit down and plug away at something that isn't getting you rich quick.
I guess it all depends on the person asking the question.
When I find myself jumping from idea to idea I have to pause and reflect on whether or not I already have a good thing going. Build rather than scrap an old plan.
What do you do? Do you prefer the experiment or the stand put method? What do you think garners more success? What makes you happier? Maybe that is the real question.
It can lead to distracted thoughts and unplanned brainstorming sessions and drastic revamps to whatever blog or business plan you might have.
This is not necessarily a bad thing and it happens to most of us. The most important part is funnelling that energy into something powerful, rather than a rubber ball of confusion bouncing in your brain. Hence the speech.
Whenever I look for advice I check forums and read what others say to each other. (I'm not a great forum poster; I can usually find the answer I'm looking for by reading the previous posts, maybe that makes me a great forum user.)
People post things like, "Help! I've been doing the right things, but not making any money!" and the responses are very similar. The person asking for help makes a big list of all of the internet marketing tactics and money-making plans that they have employed. The list is usually very long and it does in fact seem that they have done the "correct thing" to make it work. And it just doesn't.
Why?
The repliers always give the same speech: Stick to your guns. Take one of those tried-and-true plans and stick with it.
So, maybe the problem lies within the desire to experiment. Maybe it seems too boring to sit down and plug away at something that isn't getting you rich quick.
I guess it all depends on the person asking the question.
When I find myself jumping from idea to idea I have to pause and reflect on whether or not I already have a good thing going. Build rather than scrap an old plan.
What do you do? Do you prefer the experiment or the stand put method? What do you think garners more success? What makes you happier? Maybe that is the real question.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Twitter and Adf.ly
Does it pay to use Adf.ly?
Ther short answer is yes. The real answer is "It takes a lot of time and creativity to see real results with Adf.ly".
What is this site exactly?
It's a link shortener that pays you each time someone clicks on your link. It doesn't pay out unless you're getting serious clicks, and don't bother posting porn or anything else that might get you booted for spam.
My favorite PTC review site lists Adfly as an "Elite" site, which means they've been proven to pay out (with PayPal), and have been in the game for over 3 years. Rather than paraphrase a whole article you can read it here.
See? That was an example. If you clicked on the link above you'll find that you go through a quick Adfly Ad. Or you can set up the link to use a simple top banner style ad like this.
So how could this site be useful? When it comes to twitter, people find themselves using link shorteners when posting tweets. If you have a bunch of Twitter followers it could add up to a lot of clicks! This applies to any social media platform, and of course, blogs. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes for you.
Ther short answer is yes. The real answer is "It takes a lot of time and creativity to see real results with Adf.ly".
What is this site exactly?
It's a link shortener that pays you each time someone clicks on your link. It doesn't pay out unless you're getting serious clicks, and don't bother posting porn or anything else that might get you booted for spam.
My favorite PTC review site lists Adfly as an "Elite" site, which means they've been proven to pay out (with PayPal), and have been in the game for over 3 years. Rather than paraphrase a whole article you can read it here.
See? That was an example. If you clicked on the link above you'll find that you go through a quick Adfly Ad. Or you can set up the link to use a simple top banner style ad like this.
So how could this site be useful? When it comes to twitter, people find themselves using link shorteners when posting tweets. If you have a bunch of Twitter followers it could add up to a lot of clicks! This applies to any social media platform, and of course, blogs. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes for you.
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